Friends and Lovers
by Tanzettigirl
Summary: When Billy takes a potion meant for Tommy, he and Kimberly pay the price.
1. End of Summer

**Disclaimer: As always I own nothing but the story. **

**A/N: Yes, another new story. Yes, I'm completly crazy. No I have no idea how fast I'll finish, just like everything else. So there.**

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Kimberly laughed as she pulled Tommy along with her down the sidewalk. He had to run to keep from breaking his grip on her hand. "Wait up, Kim," he called with a laugh.

So Kim stopped, and tilted her head back so that the bright summer sun shone down and warmed her face. Then suddenly an arm went around her waist and she was off her feet and spinning. She squealed in delight and heard Tommy's laughter behind her.

It was the last Saturday of summer. Ernie was hosting a huge end of summer party at the Youth Center, where they were heading. They'd agreed to spend the whole day together, one last perfect day, and now they were heading to see their friends. Sure, they would see them plenty during school, but summers were always different, at least to Kim. Come Monday it would be all homework, and clubs and committees. No more last minute afternoon trips to the beach, or surprise rides through the park, or up to the mountains. When Tommy set her gently on the ground she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed up on her toes to plant a kiss on his lips.

"I feel like it's the last day of summer," she sighed.

"It is for us," Tommy said. "School starts Monday. Then we'll be busy with homework and classes…"

"And fighting evil," she said in a near whisper.

"Hey," Tommy said defensively, "It's not like Rita and Zedd took the summer off."

Kim scoffed. "I wish they had. I think we got maybe one day off this summer?"

Tommy rolled his eyes and threaded his arms around her waist a little tighter. "I think we got one or two in there somewhere."

"Maybe one or two," she said smiling.

Tommy smiled and leaned down to kiss her this time. She felt his lips against hers, soft at first, then deepening. When he finally broke the kiss she couldn't stop the smile on her face.

"Come on," Tommy said. "Let's go in."

"Okay," she agreed with a smile.

She looped her hand around Tommy's arm so he could lead her to the entrance of the Youth Center, that was only a few feet away now. Before the happy couple had taken a step a barrage of cheers and shouts carried over the parking lot. Kim looked for the source of the sudden disturbance and found it in the form of their friends, who were standing near the Youth Center entrance clapping and cheering at the lovely scene they'd just witnessed.

*****

"Little Rangers taking a lovely walk in the park. Have you ever seen anything more disgusting!!?"

Rita stepped back from the telescope with a scoff of disgust. "It's horrid," she said walking towards the throne where Zedd slouched. When he didn't look up at her approach she smacked him on the arm causing him to jump. "What are we going to do about it!"

"How should I know!" Zedd shouted back.

"Those two love birds are driving me crazy!" Rita said. "We should do something to teach them a lesson!"

"We should have Finster create a spell that will make them hate each other," Goldar suggested.

"We've tried that dimwit!" Zedd said. "Every spell we use they find a way to break."

"Yes, but for a time it does weaken them," Goldar argued. "If we attack harder while they're distracted we will have a much better chance."

"That's it!" Rita suddenly said.

"What?" Zedd asked.

"We don't need just another spell," she explained. "We need something that will provide a longer term distraction. Something permanent."

"What do you suggest?" Zedd asked.

Rita stood for a minute thinking. It had to be something powerful. The spell itself wouldn't need to last long, just long enough to set off a chain reaction that would lead to something permanent. Something that would grow into problems of its own.

"I have it! Finster, I need a love potion!"

"Love potion?" Zedd said. "Weren't you just saying you hated the idea of love with the Rangers?"

"I do!" Rita replied. "But trust me, love is going to play into my plan just perfectly." She turned to her evil little apothecary. "Make it as strong as possible in one dose."

"Yes, my Queen," Finster said with a bow then hurried from the room. Rita spun around the room back toward her telescope. "Goldar, summon Scorpina," she said as she peeked through the lens at the poor unsuspecting Rangers. This plan was going to be perfect.

*****

Scorpina smiled as she entered the Youth Center, in her human form of course. She walked across the room gracefully and dismissed the girl serving punch at a table and took the position herself. It was only a few minutes before she saw the White Ranger approaching. She slipped the potion into two glasses of punch and held them out when Tommy approached. He took them with a smile and a kind thank you. Just behind him was the Blue Ranger who also requested a glass of punch.

When both boys walked away Scorpina stepped away from the table and into a back hallway and disappeared.

*****

Billy followed Tommy across the room and stepped around him when he reached their friends.

"Here you go," Tommy said handing Kim her drink.

"Thanks."

"So what extracurricular activities are you planning to join this year, Kim?" Billy asked, drawing Kim's attention away from Tommy.

"Oh, please Billy," she said dramatically. "School doesn't start for two days, can't I still enjoy summer?"

"Oh," Billy said. "Of course. I just thought you would want to get a jump on things. Most of your old social acquaintances are here, you could-"

"Dude, you worry too much," Tommy said. He threaded an arm around Kimberly's waist and she leaned into him. "Relax. Today's about having fun."

Billy nodded in agreement. He opened his mouth to say something else when suddenly there was a shout from behind them.

"Coming through!" Bulk's voice shouted from the crowd. Before Billy could turn to see where the bully's voice was coming from he was thrown completely off balance and went barreling into Tommy. Kim gave a high-pitched shout and jumped back, but Tommy was too slow and all of Billy's drink went flying down the front of his shirt.

"Oh, man, I'm sorry," Billy said immediately. He could hear Skull's high-pitched laughter from behind him and knew the bullies were having a field day over his little casualty, even though it had been an accident.

"Man, are you okay?" Tommy asked

"Yeah," Billy said, assessing the situation quickly. "I think you got the worst of it."

"You're soaked," Kimberly said. "Nice going idiots!"

"I have some extra clothes in my locker," Tommy said with a sigh. "I better go change."

"I'll get another drink," Billy said, then Tommy stepped up, blocking his way.

"Here, take mine," Tommy said. "I didn't drink it. I'll get more when I get back."

"Thanks, man."

Tommy gave him a pat on the shoulder as he passed by and dropped the drink gently in his hand. He turned and saw Kimberly shaking her head.

"Oh, well," she said with a laugh.

Billy held Tommy's cup out to her. "Cheers."

They clinked the glasses together and drank simultaneously.

*****

"NO!" Rita screamed as she peered through the telescope. "He wasn't supposed to drink the potion!"

"What happened my little devil blossom?" Zedd asked coming up behind her.

"My plan was just ruined by those poor bumbling excuses for bullies! Finster! Get in here!"

A split second later the white skinned alchemist appeared. "Yes, my Queen?"

"What would happen if someone other than Tommy drank the potion?"

Finster paused for a moment thinking. "Well, the potion wasn't designed specifically for anyone. It isn't even a true love potion."

"What?" Rita said. "I told you I wanted a love spell so those two lovebirds would get distracted with each other!"

"I know," Finster said. "But I figured that since they were already in love a 'Love Potion' would be pointless. So instead I designed the tonic to simply lower inhibitions, to…stimulate feelings that were already there."

Rita let out a growl of frustration. "This is awful!"

"I still don't understand what's going on," Zedd interjected.

"So what is going to happen to the Blue Ranger since he drank the potion instead?" Rita asked.

Finster shrugged. "Anything could happen."


	2. Sleeping In

Disclaimer: As always, I own nothing but the story.

*****

** I need to give a special thank you to Asdeed, my most awesome beta reader. Without him this story wouldn't have happened. Luv ya dude! **

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**Sleeping In**

*****

Billy awoke slowly from a dream. He could feel the early morning sunlight peeking through the sheer curtains on his bedroom windows. With a sigh he shifted himself a little deeper into the pillow, enjoying the remnants of his dream.

He knew it was wrong to dream about his best friend's girlfriend. It wasn't the first time it had happened, he'd dreamed of Kimberly on occasion for years, long before Tommy every came to town and swept her off her feet knight-in-shining armor style. But he couldn't remember a dream this vivid, and taking a moment to relive it was a guilty pleasure he couldn't help but indulge.

It had been so real for a dream. Even more real than the spell induced dreams he and the other Rangers had had a few years ago when Rita had tried to use dreams of their failures to destroy their self-confidence. He could still smell the scent of Kim's skin, the hint of perfume clinging to her neck.

Rolling on his back Billy inhaled deep, remembering and the scent filled his lungs. Then his eyes shot open in realization. He really could smell Kim's perfume. Why in the world would he have that smell in his room?

A soft moan to his left gave the answer and he rolled over the rest of the way to find Kimberly, in the flesh-literally-lying asleep on the bed beside him. With a half-shouted curse he jumped right out of the bed, dragging the sheets tangled around his bare legs with him. This movement shook the bed, waking the sleeping princess still in it.

Billy held his breath as Kim's eyes opened and she stirred awake. For a second, everything was fine, then she jumped, realizing she wasn't in her own room. She sat straight up and looked around, finally seeing him standing next to the bed, the still tangled sheet doing a poor job of hiding his less than modest state of dress.

"Billy?" her voice said, a hint of sleep still tainting it. Then her eyes darted around the room and when he saw them widen in shock as she took in everything something instinctual snapped and the same second she took a breath he catapulted back onto the bed and put a hand over her mouth to muffle the scream.

"My father is right down the hall and unless you want him running in here and finding us, you cannot scream."

Kim's brown eyes were still the size of saucers, but her body seemed to relax a little. When Billy was convinced she was calm enough to be trusted to be quiet he slowly pulled his hand away and knelt onto the bedclothes. He'd barely taken a breath when Kim moved faster than he could see and he felt her hand slap him across the face.

"What did you do?" she hissed.

"Nothing," he cried, struggling to keep his voice low. "I didn't do anything."

"Then what the hell is going on? This better not be some experiment gone wrong again, because I'll…."

Her eyes swept the room again, obviously in panic. Billy took the opportunity to move out of line for another attack, slipping off the bed again, and adjusting the sheets to cover himself a little more modestly. It was probably a moot point at this juncture, but he made the effort all the same. Kim's panic was clearly on the rise as she clutched the comforter a little tighter to her bare chest.

"What did we…? Did we? Oh my god." Her rapid breaths visible under the soft blue cloth and Billy started to worry she might hyper-ventilate. "What the hell is going on here?" she repeated.

"I don't know, Kim," he said. "I don't…What's the last thing you remember?"

Her brow furrowed as she tried to think. "The party," she said. "We were at Ernie's party."

"You don't remember anything else?" he asked.

Kim shook her head. "No. Do you?"

Billy shook his head and said in all honesty. "No."

"Then what happened?"

Again, Billy shook his head. "I'm not sure. Maybe…maybe a spell?"

Kim scoffed at that. "You're gonna blame this on Rita and Zedd?"

Billy shrugged. "It was just a guess. I mean, if we…" he swallowed hard before saying the words, "really did something like this don't you think we'd remember?"

Kim was silent while she thought about that. It made a sort of logical sense. If Rita and Zedd could have put some kind of spell on them to distract them from something. It could happen, right?

"The drinks," Billy said, the last clear memory he had surfacing.

"What?" Kim asked.

"The cup," he said. "Tommy gave me his cup after Bulk and Skull spilled mine. Remember?"

"I don't know, Billy, it just seems too crazy."

"And you have a better explanation?" Billy snapped, getting a little annoyed at how easily she jumped to blame him. "That just went crazy and decided to betray Tommy, then forgot about it?"

Kim was silent for a long time. Finally she sighed. "I'm sorry, Billy, this is just so….so insane."

Billy sighed too, "I know."

"So, what, this was meant…for Tommy and me…" Her eyes got distant and Billy felt an even bigger surge of guilt run through him. At least if Tommy had drank the potion or whatever it was, it would have been okay, or at least more okay than it was now. He and Kim were already together, one lost night wouldn't have been a big deal, right?

Kimberly's head shake tore him from those thoughts. "I have to get out of here," she said shifting her weight to sit on the side of the bed, still clutching the comforter protectively to her chest. "My mom's going to freak when she finds out I'm not there."

She was picking through the clothes on the floor, pulling a few items on to her lap. "Turn around, I have to get dressed."

Billy turned and sat down on the opposite side of the bed, facing the wall. He could hear the shuffling of cloth and Kim's soft grunts as she moved to dress. He pushed away that thought and concentrated on other things. He would need to run tests on both himself and Kimberly to find out if they were in fact victims of some evil spell or potion. He had most of the equipment he would need in his lab, but Alpha would be able to do a much more thorough analysis at the Command Center.

"Maybe, we should talk to Zordon," he said slowly.

"I'm not talking to Zordon about this!" Kim said. "I can't. It's…embarrassing."

"Oh," Billy said. Of course the thought of waking up with anyone other than Tommy would be embarrassing for her. Then why did that little comment sting more than it should?

"Look, just, don't say anything," Kim said. "To anyone. Okay, it's over, whatever happened."

"But if it was Rita and Zedd-"

"Then they got what they wanted. Think about it Billy, what's going to happen if the rest of the team finds out? What if Tommy finds out? If Rita and Zedd were behind…this, then it was probably to hurt the team. We can't let that happen."

Billy nodded. She had a point. Intended or not, if what happened last night was discovered by the rest of the team, especially Tommy, things would get ugly quick.

"You can look now," Kim said softly and Billy turned to see her fully dressed in the white and pink button down she'd worn the day before. She leaned over the bed and looked him straight in the eye. "Just promise me you won't say anything. We're friends, we've always been friends. That's it."

Billy just nodded in response and said nothing. The silence hung between them for several minutes before Kimberly spoke again. "Now, how do I get out of here?"

"Oh," Billy said, trying to think. "I guess you should teleport out, unless you want to climb out the window."

Kim looked over at the window. They were on the first floor of the house, but the climb would still be troublesome. Billy had climbed out of it a few times himself as a child, playing with Jason or Zack. Kim was eyeing the window dubiously but finally shook her head and consulted the communicator on her wrist. "I guess I'll see you later today."

Billy had to think for a minute as the thoughts swimming in his head had become so thick that they no longer made sense. Finally, he remembered that all of them were supposed to go to the beach together one last time before school started. He nodded in understanding to him and she murmured a halfhearted goodbye, then disappeared into a pink haze.

Then she was gone.

*****

**Hope you enjoyed! Don't forget to review. **


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